


Stormy Storytime

by ShadowOA



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:13:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24171115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowOA/pseuds/ShadowOA
Summary: What was going to be a serious meeting for the Phantom Thieves of Hearts turned into a bonding moment, as some members of the team recount strange memories from their past.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Stormy Storytime

The rain beats down hard on a wet Sunday. What was meant to be a day of prep and training for the team’s next target has suddenly all but washed out, watching the droplets of water coat the dusty doors of Leblanc.

“Great...just peachey…” Ryuji sighs, slumping forward in his booth seat with arms outstretched, nearly knocking over Makoto’s coffee cup if it weren’t for Ren’s quick reactions.

“Don’t even try to spill this batch man, we’re low on these beans and Boss won’t get more in until Tuesday.”

“Well this was going to be an average meet up, but...seems we’re suck here until the rain lets up.” Makoto places her left hand on her cheek, resting her elbow on the table. “How should we pass the time? Have...you all caught up on your homework?”

“Donf talkf aboutf homfwork rightf mow.” Ryuji’s muffled voice complains.

Ann nods in agreement. “Plus, Ryuji and I...might have politely asked Ren to catch us up…”

“...you took my homework from me in the train and copied my answers…” the leader sighs, adjusting his foux glasses.

“Seriously? Ren...tell me next time they get  _ that _ desperate….” Makoto shakes her head.

“Well...since we’re all stuck here...why don’t we tell stories?” Haru smiles. “I’ve heard sharing stories among friends tends to bring them closer!”

“Bonding by recounting the past….I can’t say it’s a bad idea…” Yusuke nods, closing his sketch book. “Perhaps I can get new ideas from your tales as well.”

“Ohhhh, some of you better have some juicy stories then!” Futaba laughs with a toothy grin.

Sitting up right again, Ryuji folds his arms. “Well if that’s the case...who should go first?”

The booth is silent. 

“Seriously guys?” Ryuji faceplams.

“I guess I can go first?” Ann speaks, rubbing the back of her head.

  
  


“Well...there was a time where Shiho and I decided to go shopping back in Middle School. It was around the time that Wild Duck Burger was having that special and we thought it’d be a good excuse to finally try them out. But then….”

_ We saw a duo of really out of place people in the restaurant… _

“Ann? What are you staring at?” Shiho asks, waving a hand infront of her friend’s face.

“Look, over there.” Ann points to a duo waiting in line.

Both are dressed in black suits...with a logo on them. Nothing familiar though. And one might have...wrappings on his hands?

“They look weird...don’t they?” Ann whispers.

“They can’t be any weirder than you, though!” Shiho teases, which causes them both to laugh.

_ We figured they probably just worked on TV or something, but they seemed….more serious than your average TV people. The man looked really built, like it wouldn’t take much to take anyone down, and the woman he was with...well she was beautiful and had this air of maturity to her. _

_ But it doesn’t end there, they decided to sit in the booth next to us! _

“...no matter what part of the country we go to, we end up in one of these at some point don’t we?” The male states. “And to think back in high school... _ he _ said you never knew what a hamburger was.”

“T-That is in the past!” The woman exclaims.

Ann finds herself giggling, with Shiho joining in. Though they could feel the duo’s eyes on them. 

_ Honestly, whoever those two were they reminded me that maybe not even Adults have everything thought out. _

  
  


Ryuji puts a hand on his cheek now, looking at Ann. “You call  **_that_ ** a story? I barely got anything outta that.”

“Well….I just wanted to tell  _ something _ since no one else was!” Ann pouts, huffing.

“Hol up.” Futaba raises her hand. “You mentioned that these two had...strange uniforms on? Can you remember what they were?”

“Hmm...they were pure black, and...they had strange looking sunglasses clip on front. They kinda looked high tech.”

Futaba starts typing away, which causes Makoto to sigh. “Well while Futaba does...whatever she’s going to do….why don’t we move on to the next person shall we?”

“I can go if you would like.” Yusuke volunteers. “Though I highly doubt my story will be any more entertaining than Ann’s.” 

“Try to keep your drictiptions brief…” Ryuji quietly asks.

Yusuke completely puts away his sketchbook as he begins his story.

_ It was about two years ago I believe. I was with Madarame doing another expo, when as soon as it opened, a couple came in that...stood out from the rest… _

“...and once again the great artist Madarame has….”

Yusuke tiredly looks around at the guests that now crowd the show floor, glancing over at a duo that strikes him more than the rest of the crowd.

_ A man...and a woman. The man was dressed in what was probably the best suit he could afford...yet it resembled more of Biker attire then something one would wear to a museum. As for the woman with her...she seemed uncomfortable in the dress she wore. As if it was one she rarely wore. _

“I know this was short notice...but Senpai mentioned he nabbed these tickets for us from his day job. It’s not every day we get to come outta the hicks to go somewhere this nice, right?” The male laughs.

“True, the art here is worth the trip after all. Though if it were slightly less crowded, I would be more inclined to inspect the art more…” The woman sighs.

“ _ Inspect _ ? Isn’t the word you’re look’n for ‘Appreciate’?” The man laughs.

“...not in my case Ka-”

_ I was pulled away before I could hear more of their conversation, sadly. But the energy they gave off...it was something I wanted to paint. But within a days time...whatever I felt from that glimpse faded...as if it was false… _

  
  


“Sounds to me like the woman might have been looking into Madarame’s allegations long before we exposed him…” Ann thinks out loud. “But that’s just my guess. But a tough looking biker dude looking at art? That’s an image for sure…” 

“I mean, what if I went into an Art Gallery in my Thief Suit? Eh? Eh?” Ryuji waves his hands toward him, hoping for a reaction.

“You’d get arrested for assumption of burgally.” Morgana smirks and laughs.

“Well since Ryuji seems more animated then he did a bit ago, why don’t you go next?” Makoto looks to the bleached blond.

“Alright, fine. ...I think I got a good one. Ever tell you I wasn’t actually born in Tokyo?” 

The others all gather closer to hear.

  
  


_ Duno if you’ve heard of the place or not, but I was actually born in Iwatodai. My...dad happened to be a business worker for the company that funded the whole island, and I was originally expected to attend Gekogan High. Though...obviously that never happened. We moved long before I started any serious schooling following the split. But...while I was there, I ran into this one kid from the High School who always seemed to be by himself… _

A long sigh can be heard from a bench in the mall, as a blue haired student opens his flip phone and checks his messages.

“Six more days until the next full moon….huh?”

There’s suddenly a kid sitting next to him.

_ I was really young at the time, so I didn’t know better. My mom had always said that if someone looked down, doing something kind might make their day better then you might think. He was sad about...something to do with the moon I think? _

“Hey mister! You lonely?” Ryuji asks innocently.

“Huh? I uh...guess you could say that….” The teen shrugs.

“Well...I’ll talk with you if you want!” He kicks his little legs in the bench, not even able to touch the floor with them.

“That...sounds nice actually.” A small smile forms.

_ He didn’t seem to be much of a talker. Struck me as kind of the shy type you know? So I went on blabbing about whatever came to my mind, and he started smiling...bit by bit.  _

_ About forty minutes passed I think, before he finally said something that stook.. _

“...Ryuji was it?” The teen asks. “You have a lot of guts to come up to a total stranger and just talk as much as you do. But...that’s important in a way. You look up to...Featherman right? Hah...reminds me of a kid close to your age that does as well. You’ll do great things one day. Something tells me that.”

_ His school friends found him at that point….and he never gave me his name. But looking at him...he had a solid circle of friends. Maybe he wasn’t that lonely after all… _

“Awww! That’s a sweet story Ryuji!” Haru giggles. “I’m guessing you never got to meet him again though, right?”

“Yeah…” Ryuji nods. “Weird shit was happening in the city about that time...we moved before it got to it’s worst so I’m not even sure if he survived the murders happening there….”

“Murders….Iwatodai….” Futaba keeps typing.

“Futaba’s still looking up stuff it seems…” Ann shakes her head. “Ren why don’t you go next?”

“We haven’t heard many stories from your hometown after all!” Haru adds.

“Alright, let me see if I can think of a good one…” Ren leans back in thought.

_ I’m from Yasoinaba if you remember, and back in 2011….well a lot of stuff happened. It was all over the news. It had to be the most stressful time for me. But there were a few positives from that time period. _

_ For starters, Rise Kujikawa started attending the High School. And...she even held a concert with some other students. _

_ Junes randomly got a mascot...but it was so illusive that it was more of a rumor. The Manger’s son always seemed pissed at the guy in the suit for some reason. _

_ Oh! And Naoto Shirogane, the  _ **_real_ ** _ detective prince was at the school too. Finding out the prince was female was...interesting. _

_ But, none of those instances are where my story are centered around. There was another new face in town…. Someone making waves in his own right. _

A cool air blows through the shopping strip of Inaba as a young Ren walks his way to Junes.

_ He came for one school year, and was apparently the nephew of one of the detectives local to our police force. And the town seemed to all be magnetized to him for some reason. I...didn’t really get it though. _

_ Yet he kept talking to me off and on throughout the year. _

“Heading to Junes again, Ren-kun?” The young man smiles.

“...yeah...forgot to buy something again.” 

“I’m heading there myself, mind if I accompany you?”

_ He was annoying, but I also didn’t mind how nice he was… _

_ But, then as it started to snow in town...he wasn’t around nearly as much. I figured that it had something to do with the fact he was a Second Year… but I ended up taking the wrong turn in town one day, and saw him outside of the hospital… _

_ He was crying. _

_ I was still a kid...I didn’t fully understand what happened. Or even if I wanted to understand. But I decided I would do something nice for him. _

Ryuji leans forward. “So? What’d you do?”

Ren sighs, closing his eyes. “I bought flowers for him. The best I could get at Junes. I knew where the house he was staying at was, and I figured...whatever happened, he’d appreciate it. I left a note….along with my name.”

_ And I hid to see if I could spot how he would react…. _

_ When he opened the door. He smiled….but it was a different smile then normal. There was less light in it. And then I noticed….no one else was in that house. It was just him… _

“What could have happened to his uncle then?” Yusuke asks, thinking.

“I don’t know...not long after that, the culprit behind the incidents was arrested with Naoto being among those who received credit for the arrest. My guess is that he got badly injured...and that was why the nephew was upset.” Ren sighs, shaking his head. “He went back home not much later than that. Though I did catch him visiting a few times…”

“All I can gather from that story, Ren...is that you’ve always been someone who just has to do  _ something _ when you notice something's off.” Futaba snickers. “But...that’s a good thing.”

“You know...the more stories we share, the more you all keep mentioning other people in them as the focus.” Makoto points out. “Not that I’m complaining...but what made you all tell those stories in particular?”

Ann thinks for a bit. “You know? Maybe it had something to do with them. Like..whenever I recall the story I told...I always thought that the reason why I remembered it was because of how weird they were dressed. But now that I’m thinking back...that man and woman gave off a strange vibe to them.”

Yusuke snaps his fingers. “It was the same for me as well! That duo at the exhibit gave off an aura that not one other soul present did. Much like Ann however, I only recalled the tale due to their outward appearance. Ryuji, what about your story?”

Ryuji shrugs. “I duno man, it was 2009. Like if the Blue Haired kid gave off a weird vibe or something I’d prolly remember it. He just felt...kinda depressed to me. Unless that’s the aura you mean…”

“If we’re on that subject, all the people I mentioned in my story gave off weird vibes too.” Ren adjusts his glasses, allowing the light to hide his eyes. “The Nephew, the Mascot, even the store manger’s son. And I think that feeling might be a Per-”

“I HAVE A STORY!” Futaba waves her arms wildly...causing a half dozing Morgana to claw Ren in the back in a start.

“...indoor voice next time, Futaba…” Makoto sighs. “But go ahead, share your story.”

“This one’s a bit recent, if you can forgive me on that front. Buuut a few days ago...I came across something really funny.”

_ So like, on Tuesday there was a release on a new Featherman figure. Akihabara has always been crazy busy, but you’d think there was a massive protest going on that day! _

_ I was wating in line as well as could without Ren’s back up because he had to go to his dumb day job…. But ahead of me in line was a kid about the same age as you guys! Seemed to be...not from Tokyo. I could tell at a glance. _

_ But he seemed even more determined to get the figure then I was! That’s when I realized...this was a rival battle! _

Ryuji whispers to Ann “Why does she always have to make it sound like she’s in a video game?”

“Let her be, Ryuji.” Ann says back.

“If I can resume?” Futaba rolls her eyes.

_ So my unnamed rival and I both waited the long line of death. Watching as several people started to slowly give up one by one. Heh heh heh, the weaklings! I used some of my time to kinda scope out my rival, and he gave off some interesting vibes like the people you guys mentioned.  _

“And well..he had his smartphone out. And he was texting a ‘Mitsuru-san’ apparently. I got curious and ended up quietly snooping on his texts, but the whole conversation didn’t make sense aside from the ‘Supporting a friend’ part.”

Ryuji sighs. “So basically you found another teen, spied on his texts...just to kill time? How’s that a story?”

“Well if I told that story first, it would have been a nothing story...but...I think Ren was onto something earlier. I think that maybe...all the people in our stories could have been Persona-users.” 

“Mona-chan, is that a possibility?” Haru tilts her head, curious.

“Well yeah. You guys for sure aren’t the first Persona users to exist. And you for sure you won’t be the last.” The cat laughs.

“Wonder what they all had to go through to awaken then…” Ann thinks to herself. “It’s hard to think of the kind of hardships you gotta face to get your Persona. I mean, look at us. We all went through our own personal hells to get what we have now...so knowing that other people might have had to been pushed to the same limits…”

“It does make the world feel less small…” Makoto nods her head. “Perhaps it’s for the best we don’t know what went down. I mean, if a future Persona user tried to dig into our past...it’d be rude right? Best we don’t start that trend. Now….who’s next?”

The stories go on and on until the last trains arrive for the day.


End file.
